1. Field of Invention
The subject invention is generally related to access systems for connecting the users on a LAN or WAN to a distributive network such as, by way of example, corporate intranets and the Internet, and is specifically directed to a method for managing and controlling access to the network under both time and category constraints.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Distributive networks such as, by way of example, the Internet, for interconnecting computers are well known. Such networks permit remote and distributed computers to communicate with each other over public communication channels. Over the years, use of such networks for research and for communication via E-mail, file transfer, interactive World Wide Web browsing and the like has become widespread. As such use has become commonplace in the work environment, individual users and user groups have access to the world wide web via their workstation PC's. While greatly facilitating the capability of each worker at a PC workstation, such access has greatly complicated management of the worker. Systems to control both site and time access to the web have become essential management tools to assure that only authorized users are interacting with facilities over the Internet during authorized time periods for legitimate, authorized purposes.
Numerous policing techniques have been attempted in the past, but all require burdensome administrative procedures and lack the fine ability to discriminate between legitimate and undesirable use and are, in addition, implemented on additional hardware which carries significant expense. Management and control of user access to the Internet has been traditionally implemented as an outgrowth of firewall technology. Firewall technology involves a hardware device placed between the LAN which is supporting the workstations and computers and the Internet. The purpose of a firewall is to prevent outside, that is, other Internet computers and workstations, from gaining access to and damaging or capturing control of the internal LAN computers and their data. As access to the Internet from within the LAN expanded to the general employee population and their workstations from the previously well-controlled group of computer specialists, the management of the access to the Internet became an additional requirement.
The technology of the firewall to control access between computers within and without the local LAN is through the use of Internet addressing, IP addresses are normally required of every computer connected to the Internet. Tables are established of internal and external computer addresses both individually and in contiguous groups, domains, and permissions are assigned to the allowed connectivity. The complexity becomes much greater as the expanded utility of the Internet requires the identification of users as well as services at the various computers and permissions more finely identified even within addresses.
Firewall technology is built upon the perspective of the traditional computers used to build and operate the Internet, UNIX-based processors. These processors network together with the very protocols used by the Internet, TCP/IP and the firewalls are designed to negotiate the management of the Internet IP addressing both within and without.
The rapid dissemination of access to the Internet has brought the requirements to networks consisting only of PCs typically running only PC operating systems such as WINDOWS, WINDOWS-95, and NT. These are single user workstations and which have, themselves, a completely separate database of users and groups designed for access within the network, the LAN, itself, to the PC LAN's own resources such as local file access and printer access. These LANs were designed without knowledge of and without preparation for interfacing with the Internet. In fact, they operate normally on protocols which are incompatible with and have no addressing for Internet interfacing.
The prior art extends Internet IP addressing as an additional network interface addressing each of the LAN PC workstations and treating the Internet-address-enhanced PCs as if they were traditional host UNIX networked computers, with firewall techniques managing the Internet interface.
Therefore, a need for a reliable, versatile administration system for controlling and monitoring access to distributive network sites by either individual or groups of PC users on a LAN or WAN within the capabilities of the administration capacity of the personnel normally managing the original mechanisms and purposes for which it was designed and to do so with the management architecture already established.